We cannot start dreaming again until we get out of the hole and start rebuilding our city.

By Alan Kennedy-Shaffer

Third time’s the charm. Harrisburg City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to join Mayor Linda Thompson in support of Receiver William Lynch’s recovery plan, saying it will let Harrisburg rise from the ashes of the incinerator debt. The Commonwealth Court has confirmed the plan as well.

Like many residents, I am concerned about the unanswered questions regarding the plan, which sells city assets, raises taxes, penalizes recycling, and removes the city worker residency requirement. Will taxes be equitable? Will the plan be fair? After two years and two previous plans, we do not have all of the answers.

However, I am encouraged by the endorsement of City Council, which consulted outside experts. We do not know what Alvarez & Marsal told Council last Sunday, but we do know that President Wanda Williams said that the firm’s “unqualified support” helped to change her mind. We know that lots of other people who voted for bankruptcy have changed their minds, too.

As president of Harrisburg Hope, a grassroots community group which has hosted debt forums with former receiver David Unkovic, the mayor, city council, and civic leaders, I want to believe that the plan’s third iteration will work. Harrisburg must emerge from debt stronger and wiser.

As one resident aptly put it at Tuesday’s City Council session, “This city’s never going to start dreaming again if we don’t do something.” After years of forums, hearings, and closed door negotiations between our representatives, creditors, and officials at all levels, we must move forward. Everyone – our next mayor, city council, and the community – needs to put aside past differences and begin focusing on the larger picture.

We cannot start dreaming again until we get out of the hole and start rebuilding our city.

As is the case with Lynch and many of this year’s mayoral candidates, I am hopeful that our river city has found a way to overcome the $350 million incinerator debt, $100 million parking authority debt, $100 million other, varied debt, and $180 million unfunded pension liabilities.

I am hopeful that we will regain our footing as the strong engine of the capital region. I am hopeful because a diverse coalition is building. I share City Controller Dan Miller’s and Bishop A.E. Sullivan’s concerns that this plan might not work, but I also know that our city’s brightest days are yet to come, and the only way to reach that new dawn is to start walking, one step at a time.

With the receiver’s term expiring at the end of this year, Harrisburg’s next mayor will have an unprecedented opportunity to lead the way in making Harrisburg safer, more beautiful, more prosperous, more equitable – a better place to live, work, and learn. So start dreaming again.

Imagine a Harrisburg without debt. Imagine streets filled with volunteers who care about safety. Imagine schools where children and parents want to learn. Imagine bridges painted with murals from Danzante, Barak, and other local institutions opening hearts through art. Imagine community meetings where elected officials treat ordinary citizens not as pests but as partners.

That is the Harrisburg where I want to live and work. That is the Harrisburg worth my time, my energy, and my hope. Together, we can make our city stronger.

Mayoral candidates are already looking past state receivership to a time when our community controls our future. The Patriot-News is now talking about “the way forward.” Although I still believe in accountability for those who built the “house of cards,” and that the community has not yet been offered a real seat at the table, I also believe that we have to seize the moment.

While we keep fighting for equity between city residents and residents of the rest of the county, let us also fight to prevent crime, improve our schools, fix our infrastructure, and create new jobs. While we keep pursuing justice for a city pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by irresponsible debt, let us also pursue happiness for those eager to live in a diverse city with extraordinary potential.

Harrisburg is our city. Let’s start dreaming again.

Alan Kennedy-Shaffer will be co-moderating the Harrisburg Hope mayoral debate at Harrisburg Area Community College Oct. 3.

This column was edited to fix an error about the day of the council's vote.